The Gladstone Springhouse and Bottling Plant is an historic water bottling facility at 145a Boon Street in
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 14,532 at the 2020 census. However, during the summer months the town's population more than doubles to near 34,000. The town of Narragansett occupie ...
.
The springhouse was constructed in 1899 by T. G. Hazard, Jr. The bottling plant building may date from as early as 1911.
The site was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1984.
The springhouse collects the water of Gladstone Springs. It contains about seven and a half feet of water. It is a round stone structure, in diameter and standing only about above grade, and is covered by a conical roof. A projecting gable-roof dormer contains the doorway to the building.
Southwest of the spring house stands a two-story wood-frame structure with a large single-story concrete-block addition, which has seen a variety of uses. The first floor is believed to have originally housed offices, but has been converted to apartments. The upstairs appears to have always been an apartment, probably for the facility manager. The concrete block structure is where bottling and shipping took place.
History
The availability of fresh spring water via Gladstone Springs was significant to the development of
Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island
Narragansett Pier is an unincorporated village and a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Narragansett in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 3,409 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Narragansett Pier is loca ...
, as a resort area in the decades following the Civil War. In 1899, T. G. Hazard, Jr., built the springhouse to enlarge and cover a pit previously used to collect the spring water.
In 1911, the property was purchased by Syria W. Mathewson, William R. Sweet, and
Frederick C. Olney
Frederick Clayton Olney (July 15, 1862 – May 24, 1918) was an African-American lawyer and entrepreneur. A resident of Wakefield, Rhode Island, with Native American ancestry, he was one of the first African-American lawyers admitted to the bar ...
, who formed the Gladstone Springs Water Company.
Olney was particularly notable among the group, as one of the first African-American lawyers admitted to practice in the state of Rhode Island.
[J. Clay Smith, Jr, ]
Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944
' (1999), p. 160-61. They built the bottling plant structure and enlarged the facilities, intending to begin the production of bottled sodas as well as spring water.
See also
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gladstone Springhouse And Bottling Plant
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
Buildings and structures in Narragansett, Rhode Island
Drink companies of the United States
Industrial buildings completed in 1899
1899 establishments in Rhode Island
National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Rhode Island
Spring houses
Bottling plants